The Sixth Generation
by Shadowofmordor
Summary: This is the continuation of the Narutoverse. Jumping forward, you, dear reader, find the story of the Sixth Generation, after all our beloved heroes have passed. Fear not, however! The ones in this story are their descendants, just as powerful if not more than their ancestors. Also, this story will attempt to remain as canon regarding the past as possible. Don't judge the cover.
1. Not-so-humble beginnings

The tap of wood on wood made no sound; there was only one kunai, and only one shuriken. It had been a pain to even get them this far. The group encircled their target, knowing that the tools were the only way this would work. These ninja knew they could never get close to the man without being noticed. The two ninja weapons were passed around, waiting until someone had a clear shot. Finally, the kunai exited the circle into one person's hands. He had a shot. He began tying a chakra-wire around the circle on the hilt. After he was done, he gave the signal. Two bird chirps, a type common for this area but very uncommon at this time of day. Then, it was time to move. The ninja who'd received the shuriken took a deep breath, exhaled, and threw. Less than half a second later, the kunai was thrown, Sharingan eyes burning red behind it, one comma in the left, two in the right. The shuriken struck first, only brushing the back of the target's flak jacket. The man spun, just in time to miss the kunai hitting the ground silently behind him. The man's eyes narrowed.

"Who.." He did not get a chance to finish. The man who had thrown the kunai channeled fire chakra down the wire, then twitched his finger, to which he had tied the other end. The heated kunai sprung up, right behind the unsuspecting man, and-

"YOWCH!" The senior class academy teacher shrieked as the end of the hot wooden knife slapped his rear. The class was in tears of laughter, as some rolled on the floor, a few of even the most toadying of the students managed a smile, and some had silent seizures in their seats. All except one. Mitsuki Six glared around at the room.

"Alright!" The teacher seemed to have recovered. "Who was it? Fess up, or you don't get to go to lunch!" A lot of people's eyes twitched, until Shikara Nara passed Chota Akimichi a couple of bags of chips. This kept the Akimichi heir silent. The entire class had gone silent poker face as the teacher scanned them. He knew the Uchiha had thrown the kunai, but he didn't have any proof. Unless….

The teacher focused on the Uchiha, who kept his face in that holier-than-thou-now-shut-face-and-bow-down expression, which was a tell. Kikato never did that except on formal occasions. Still, it wasn't enough proof. He took a couple steps toward the pre-teen, scanning in peripheral vision, until. There! A yellow flash as Runato Uzumaki shot a worried glance toward the Uchiha. _Bingo._

"Runato Uzumaki and Kikato Uchiha have detention until four o'clock today." The room was silent for a moment. Then Kikato had two words to say.

"Dammit, Runato." It was at this moment that Runato proceeded to explode.

"WHAT DID I DO YOU IDIOT FREAKING FIRE-CHAKRA USING GIVEAWAY!" Proceeded by lots of expletives that the teacher was in shock that a twelve year old would even know. He was distracted for the second time then. He didn't notice Kida Inuzuka opening up the window. The next second, every clan heir along with a few other students were out the window, except Shina Aburame, Mitsuki Six, Hitachi Hyuga, and a few other non-clan who hadn't been involved. The teacher raced to the window, intent on catching his wayward students, until the bell rang. Then there was no longer any point, and the teacher decided he didn't care.

"I can't believe we got away with that!" Runato shouted as the group raced along the rooftops. They had separated shortly after they had escaped their teacher. Now their group consisted of Kikato, Runato, Shikara, Chota, and Kida.

"Of course we did!" Kida said. "It's cause we're the best!"

"Aroooound!" Runato followed up.

"No one's gonna get us down!" Kikato finished.

"What a drag." Shikara groaned.

"I'm hungry," Chota grunted. "How about ramen?"

"I'm _always_ up for ramen!"

"Eh. I could eat."

"Sure, why not."

"Let's go!"

The group continued leaping along, until they arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, something that had been around since the time of the Seventh Hokage. And, surprisingly, it was still here, by the time of the Thirteenth Hokage. The group of five got seated and made their orders. Later, after their meals were almost finished, they began to talk. Chota started it off.

"Genin Exam."

Shikara went to respond. "It's a drag, what else?"

Chota was hesitant. "Do….d'you think we're all gonna pass?"

"What?" Kida snorted. "Of course, we're gonna pass. Any of us can do clone and transformation, and most can do substitution multiple times in a row!"

"I don't think he's talking about that," said Kikato.

"Well, what else could he be talking about?" Questioned Runato.

Chota was a more confident now. "No, not the first part. The actual test, with our Jonin leaders. What about that? I mean, that's the one unpredictable part of all of them."

"Not really," Kikato spoke up. "Remember, each of the 'Rookie Nine' teams are _always_ the same, even six generations after the fourth war. So I see it like this. Team Seven will probably get some form of teamwork test, given that Runato and my fighting styles are completely different, and because Six is a dick." That sent chuckles around the table. Mitsuki Six, sixth generation Mitsuki, was generally referred to as Six. She was also a stickler for rules and regulations. All. The. Time. After the chuckles died, Kikato continued. "Team Eight will probably get some tracking test, with Aburame bugs, Hyuga Byakugan, and Inuzuka smell and ninken. Team Ino-Shika-Cho will get a combination test, seeing where your combo jutsu skills are strong and weak. Just prepare for those and we're good. Then, before we know it, Chunin exams!"

"Little early to be worried about Chunin Exams, squirt." The group jumped as a ninja bearing Police Force armbands with the Uchiha sigil in the middle walked up. Kikato smiled.

"Hey, Satako. How's life?"

"Good, though," he paused to check his watch. "Shouldn't you be getting back to school?"

By the time Satako heard Kikato's; "Later, Satako!" and Kida's "Oh shit!" all five were halfway down the road and out of sight, a dust cloud flying behind them. Satako Uchiha looked on with a smile, remembering his own academy days. Then he realized that he should be returning to HQ, and there was no way in hell he could get back fast enough. _Oh well, nothing for it, I guess._ Satako took one last look at his out-of-sight cousin, before his Sharingan activated, shifted into a three-point star, and swirled him away.

[End]

Hi. Couple things I want to explain here. First, technology is the same as the beginning of Naruto. No computers or video games, because I don't feel like writing that in. Second, Satako is not an enemy, and may or may not appear again. The only other thing I'll say is that in this timeline, most Uchiha have Eternal Mangeyko. Read and Review.


	2. The Genin Exam-Both of them

It occurred to me that I forgot to put in Kida's dog. So for now, while I think of his name, he's sick at home.

[Begin]

The teacher smiled happily. The five students that had embarrassed him were going to be late, and there was nothing they could do about it. He was about to slide the door shut and begin class, but then-

A blond blur and someone with red cheek-markings slid in through the door at the last second before he slammed it shut. About half a second later, a boy with black hair done up like a pineapple vaulted over the windowsill, immediately followed by a tall boy with raven hair. About two seconds after that, an exhausted Akimichi climbed over the same sill. Then they were all in their seats, giant smiles on their faces, just as the bell rang. The Chunin stood there for a moment in disbelief, before sighing in defeat and moving to begin the class.

Kikato and Runato walked down the street after academy hours ended. They had left their other friends behind as they each took different ways home. Kikato and Runato lived near each other. More correctly, they were almost neighbors. Kikato could step onto his upstairs deck, leap twice, and be in Runato's room, should he have the window open. The two had spent many a night playing cards or talking about ninja stuff, and generally being irresponsible kids. Ninja kids, but kids nonetheless. Contrary to popular belief, they were on good terms with Six. She was a stickler for rules, and sometimes disapproved of how they acted in public, but she was a good counter for the two, and kept them under control. That was her job in their little three-man dynamic. That wasn't anything new to anybody. Though they tried to keep it under wraps, everyone knew damn well that Team 7 was recreated in every generation. And Kikato, Runato, and Six were going to be Team 7. This was fact. As Kikato and Runato headed down different streets, the tone changed before they parted. The two stood looking at each other as they said goodbye. Then Runato said it.

"Team meeting tonight? Around two?"  
Kikato still had a joking tone. "That's two in the morning, not night. But yeah. Send a toad to Six."  
"Still haven't signed the snake contract, huh?"  
"Shut it. And snakes aren't good for errands. They don't like it. And I might get a different one too. Hawks sound nice."

"Keep joking. See you at two."

"Hn."  
Runato laughed. "There it is. I knew I could bring out the hn!"

"Hn."

Runato got the hint. He and Kikato walked down separate streets, as if leaving behind an argument. Both had smiles on their faces.

[Five years prior]

Kikato and Runato lay on the floor next to Runato's bed, playing cards. A clock beside them showed the time. 3:27 AM. Not unusual, and Kikato would probably leave before four. If they didn't fall asleep first. It was a semi-common occurrence, then, that Kikato would accidentally nod off, then Runato would say screw it, toss a blanket over him, and go to bed himself. This night, however, was destined to be unusual. The wind blew, a cold breeze over the Leaf. The curtains shook, and the two boys shuddered as they felt the chill.

"Kikato, do me a favor and shut the window," Runato said.

Kikato rolled his eyes. "What's the magic word?"

"Screw you."

"Close enough." Kikato stood and strolled over to the window. Before he could close it, however, he saw something strange. A pale girl with golden eyes sat across the street on a rooftop, quietly crying to herself. Kikato, not wanting to chance being heard, beckoned Runato over. The boy didn't get the hint.

"What is it? Just close the wind-"

That was as far as he got before Kikato shushed him, and signaled him over again. Grumbling to himself about obstinate friends, he ambled over and stood stock still at the sight. Then he snapped out of it and began signing in the Old ANBU code to Kikato. The code had been abandoned seventy years prior, but the two often used it when they needed secrecy.

'What do we do?'

'Do I look like I know?'

'It's Mitsuki.'

'Who?'

'The girl everyone calls Six.'

'Should we help?'

'Sure. Why not.'

The two climbed out of the window and jumped over, only shadows in the dark. As they landed, silent as a mouse, some miniscule sense alerted the girl. Her eyes shot up to them, and she recoiled in fear.

"Don't hurt-" Kikato clamped his hand over her mouth. The last thing they needed was to wake up whoever was sleeping in the house below them. Runato tried damage control.

"Look," he whispered, "We aren't going to hurt you. What's wrong, Six?"

At this, the girl broke down sobbing again, and Kikato removed his hand.

"Come on," he said. "You can tell us."

Mitsuki looked up at them, golden eyes glistening with tears.

"You won't tease me?" She said, at an almost silent level.

"Of course not! We wouldn't do that!"

This time it was Runato's mouth Kikato's hand covered, lest he wake the entire street. However, the effect was the same. Mitsuki responded anyway.

"They…. They teased me about my name. They said that I was so unimportant that my parent didn't care about my name. They called me-" Mitsuki broke down in sobs again. Runato and Kikato were around her instantly.

"Hey, we aren't going to be mean. What did they call you?"

"Yeah, you can tell us!"

Mitsuki hiccupped before responding.

"They called me Six!" She said, before starting to cry again.

It made sense, after all, that they(Runato and Kikato didn't need to know who 'they' was, it wasn't very important) called her Six. She was sixth generation Mitsuki, and that name hadn't changed since the days of Boruto's teammate of the same name. It didn't help that they generally didn't understand why people called them numerically. To everyone else, it was convenience. For example, if Runato mentioned Mitsuki to his father, he would think of his teammate. But if Runato said Mitsuki Six, or just Six, his father would know he meant the Mitsuki of Runato's own age.

Kikato met Runato's eyes and directed him back toward Runato's room. Kikato then gently grabbed Mitsuki around the shoulders-she either didn't notice or didn't care- and used the Teleportation Jutsu to get back in. Runato simply jumped across. Once they were back in, Runato grabbed three water bottles and brought them to his friends.

"Look," he said, "Being called Six isn't anything to be ashamed of. I'd actually like it better if my name was just Naruto, since my name is just an anagram. Do you have any idea how many times I've been ragged on because of that?"

"Yeah," Kikato followed up, "I mean, I can't identify with the name thing, but people rag on me all the time for not being 'the Perfect Uchiha' you know?"

Mitsuki took a water bottle. "But, but, they tease me about it and I hate it. Why don't you guys care?"

"Well," Kikato thought about it. "I guess it's because we don't let it affect us. We laugh it off, we tease them back, and eventually, when we've proven it doesn't get to us, we stop getting teased."

Runato, not to be left out, put in his two cents. "Yeah. They tease you because you let them. Show them you don't care. Fight back. They'll stop."

Mitsuki looked at them both sadly. "But what if they don't?"  
"Then we'll be your friends, and we'll beat the crap out of them if they don't stop messing with you!" Runato said.

Mitsuki brightened up. "Well… then I guess it's okay if you call me Six, then, if you aren't going to tease me."

Kikato chuckled. "Of course we aren't. Now, _Six,_ would you like to play cards with your new friends?"

Mitsuki took the name in stride. "Yes. I would like that."

[Present Day]

At precisely one fifty-nine in the morning, Runato opened the window to his room. Behind him lay three bottles of water, three cans of soda, three blankets, and three totally-not-all-in-his-favor stacks of playing cards. At precisely two, Kikato zipped in through the window, appearing behind Runato on one of the blankets, already chugging down his water. Six flew in a half-second later very pointedly not using the Teleportation Jutsu. Runato chuckled. It had been a game between the two, to see who could reach the room faster. Six, on the one hand, already had momentum. Kikato, on the other, had the Teleportation Jutsu. Kikato had recently been able to beat Mitsuki, and often made a point of making it look like he'd been there for a while, in spite of Runato, who had very obviously just opened the window. As Mitsuki took her place on one of the blankets, Runato closed the window and sat, cracking his soda. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, before Kikato piped up.

"So, strategy for tomorrow. Step one: Teamwork. Do we do the 'we all dislike each other because everyone wants us to be friends' route, or do we act normal?"

Runato hummed. "Normal, I think. Deceiving a Jonin would be hard to pull off normally, and with a Hatake near-guaranteed to be our teacher, it'll be next to impossible."

Mitsuki nodded her agreement. "Yes. Even if we do manage it, it'll quickly become apparent we were lying. I don't think we want to give that impression to our new captain."

Kikato, secure with his teammates' logic, moved on. "How about the test? I know it'll be combat related, so do we just kind of wing it or do we actually make a plan?"

Mitsuki raised her hand. "Strategy, definitely. We can wing it if it doesn't work, but we'll have to wing it as a team."

Runato, feeling put out for no discernible reason, shot in. "Yeah… maybe give him a little Shadow Clone confusion while we make a plan."

Kikato sighed. "Well, since I'm the guy the somehow _always_ gets stuck with the plan, I need the jutsu everyone knows. For the plan."

Runato grinned. "Are you sure it's not for the Chunin Exam that may or may not be happening in four months?"

Mitsuki grunted. "It is far too late for us to be joking around. I'll start. Manic Contortion Jutsu, arms and legs only, Water Bullets, Water Bomb, Earthen Wall, Hiding like a Mole, and Headhunter Jutsu."

Runato sighed; he hated it when his teammates were in this mood. "Rasengan, Shadow Clones, Nine-tails Cloak without tails, Wind Bullet, Wind Scythe, and Wind Punch.

Kikato nodded. "Just so everyone knows, Fireball, Phoenix Fire, Chidori, a couple Chidori Senbon, Sharingan Genjutsu, up to four Shadow Clones, and Teleportation. And of course, everyone knows the standard academy jutsu. Is that all we need?"

His teammates nodded affirmative. Kikato grinned, and gestured to the cards. It was certainly not the first time they'd played cards until four in the morning, but it was destined to be one of the last.

[End]

I intended to make this chapter go until after the test, but it's 1:21 in the morning, I'm tired, and the obligatory feelings flashback scene went on longer than anticipated. Meep meep,

Shadowofmordor

(P.S) Ironic that I haven't written any SOM fics. Eh.


	3. Are They Ready?

Shadow speaking. Y'know, I thought at the beginning of this story that I wouldn't answer reviews until I got at least five. I am now proving myself a shameless liar.

SuddenEnd: Thanks for dropping by. I might implement Satako later*cough* during this chapter *cough*, by virtue of I don't want to think up more names, but he is a character mostly designed to show how different the Uchiha clan of the Naruto series is to the one in this timeline. Remember, this fic is based off the original universe continued on, not some universe of my own half-assed design.

[Start]

Kikato had always been excited about learning from a Hatake. Their usage of the Sharingan in only one eye was as masterful as in some of the Uchiha, and even they agreed there was no one better to learn the Sharingan from than a Hatake, for an Uchiha could only use, not teach. So Kikato had been excited to train with his underdeveloped Sharingan. One thing he had forgotten to think of, however...

Every member of the Hatake clan was chronically late.

Kikato tossed around a pair of shuriken, trying to ricochet them back to him.

Runato snored next to a cup of ramen he'd fallen asleep before eating.

Six used her second pair of eyelids(When Kikato had looked at her strangely for using the clear ones in public, she had told him to mind himself.) to sleep whilst appearing to remain sitting up.

And so they remained. The other twenty-seven genin had already received their Jonin leaders and left. Only team seven stayed. One hour turned into two, and just before two would have turned into three, the door slid open.

Kikato managed to catch both shuriken and stow them away.

Runato bolted upright and squirreled the cup of ramen into his bag.

Six simply blinked her secondary eyelids away.

A tuft of gravity-defying gray hair poked into the room, a few strands framing a masked face, with only one eye visible. All three Genin's eyes widened. The Jonin eye-smiled.

"Hello," said the clearly female voice. "I'm Kikari Hatake. Team Seven, meet me on the roof."

Then she was gone, in a swirl of leaves.

[Skip]

Kikari sat on the railing as her Genin squad assembled themselves before her. As they sat, before they had really settled, she began speaking.

"Alright. Tell me a little bit about yourselves. I want to know if I can actually teach you or if you're a lost cause. Pale girl, you're up first."

Six jumped a bit before answering. "Well, what specifically do you want to know, Sensei?"

Kikari shrugged. "I don't feel like explaining it, so I'll start. My name is Kikari Hatake. I like reading, eating dango, and hanging out with my ninken. I don't like people who think they know everything and cowardice. I've already achieved my dream, so my immediate goal is to turn you three into something resembling ninja. There. Girl, go."

Six stood up. "My name is Mitsuki, although my friends refer to me as Six. I like my friends, learning anything new, and practicing my ninja arts. I don't like people who blatantly break the rules, and people who disrespect me. My dream is to be head of ANBU."

Kikari nodded. "Close enough. Loud blonde, go."

Runato grinned. "My name is Runato Uzumaki! I like my friends, learning cool, flashy jutsu, and ramen! I don't like people who are jerks and people who tell me I'm going to be just like my dad! My dream is to be the Fourteenth Hokage!"

Their Jonin eye-smiled again. "As expected. Uchiha, you're up."

Kikato leaned forward. "My name is Kikato Uchiha. I like my friends, practicing with my Sharingan, and shurikenjutsu. I don't like bullies and ninja who pick on the weak. My dream is to be top Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village."

Kikari stood from her position. "Well, that's good, you all fit your academy files, at least. Now, for the actual test," She stretched. "We have a survival test at eight tomorrow morning. Don't eat breakfast, get a good night's sleep, and bring all of your ninja tools. Until then." She vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Kikato turned to grin at his teammates. "Eat breakfast, show up at nine-thirty, and bring food. Later!" He waved and then disappeared in a swirl of leaves as well. Runato turned to Mitsuki, just in time to see her head sink underground, virtue of the Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu. Mumbling about anti-social teammates and learning the Teleportation Jutsu, Runato leaped off the roof and onto the building across the street.

[Skip]

As the clock struck four, Kikato opened his window and swung himself out. As he channeled chakra for a teleportation, a voice sounded behind him. "Going somewhere, Kikato?"

Kikato sighed. Being the clan heir sometimes had disadvantages. "You know where I'm going, Satako."

The older Uchiha stepped out of the shadows. "I do, but guard duty makes it my job to ask. Are you sure about this?"

Kikato turned to face him. "I am. I have to become a ninja. For that, I need my friends. And it's funny to wake Runato up early."

Satako grinned easily. "That it is," The grin disappeared. "Kikato, whatever you do, if it comes out-"

Kikato's eyes darkened. "Don't use it, I understand. Anything else?"

Satako only had time to shake his head before Kikato teleported.

[Skip]

Runato blinked balefully at Kikato. "What time is it?"

"Four in the morning."  
"Four in the mourning, more like. Want a blanket?"

"Sure. In the closet, right?"  
"Yup."

KIkato got the blanket and moved to the futon. He laid down under the blanket and turned to look at Runato. "Excited?"

Runato turned to look at him. "For what? The test?"

Kikato chuckled. "No, fool, missions, ya fool. After tomorrow, we'll be ninja, ya know."

Runato aimed a finger at him. "No. You will not start talking like Gyuki. No rap for you." Then they dissolved into laughter. After they finished blinking tears from their eyes, Kikato started talking again.

"Missions."

Runato shook his head. "D-ranks. Weeks of D-ranks.

Kikato grunted. "I hope you don't expect us to help, Mr. I-spam-shadow-clones-for-every-chore."

"Hey! Don't pretend you don't do it too!"

" _One_ clone. I don't have a Tailed Beast. And I'm naturally clean."  
"Naturally OCD."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

The next sound from Runato's mouth was a snore. A minute later, it was the sound coming from Kikato's mouth too.

[Skip]

Runato blinked his eyes and shifted on his log. He and Kikato had walked to the training ground together. Kikato was up a tree, eating a biscuit. Six had arrived a few minutes ago using her mole Jutsu to pop out of the ground. It was ten o'clock, two hours after Team Seven was supposed to meet. And they had _just_ spotted Kikari Sensei walking up the path. As Kikato stuffed the rest of the biscuit in his mouth and scrambled down the tree, Six and Runato popped to attention, and the Uchiha joined them a second later. As they stood there, still as rocks, Kikari Hatake came to a stop in front of them and held up three bells. Apparently, she wasn't one for introduction or pleasantries.

"I could just use two bells for this test and try that approach, but two things stop me from doing it. One: I know you all are a fairly effective team already. Two: I am also quite sure your parents – which my father trained- have informed you that this test is about teamwork. So this test is a straightforward are-you-ninja-or-are-you-useless test. Get the bells or convince me you can be a competent ninja later on your life or you're done. Ready?"

Team 7 looked at each other warily. They'd made a plan, but had no idea how it would go. So now there was only thing left to do.

"Ready!"

Kikari eye-smiled.

"Begin."

"Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

[End]

Now you know why I didn't name the chapter: Team Seven versus Kikari Hatake. That would have been too cruel. But I'll leave you with a hint; Who used the Wind Scythe?


	4. Team 7 Versus Kikari Hatake

I won't make excuses, here; It's been way too long since I did anything for either of my stories. Stuff tends to run away from someone like me, and this was one of them. I'll be straight with the people reading this: I will not stop these stories. Updates are going to be very infrequent, however, until such time as I can focus on this. (and the half-million other things I'd like to do but don't have time for). Encouragement via review does help some with this, though. I do feel more motivated to write when I have people who want to read. That's not asking for tons of reviews, but it does motivate me a small bit. Before I thoroughly embarrass myself, assuming I already haven't, I'll shut up and show you what I've written.

[Start]

Well, that was unexpected. Alone of his teammates, Runato stood against her Wind Scythe. Kikari regarded the short blonde boy with mild surprise, not that she let it show anywhere. The current Nine-Tails container had crossed his arms to block her attack. Now, he stood in the middle of the field, albeit in the center of a large trail of fresh earth, several meters away from the starting point. While she knew he was wind-natured, and naturally wouldn't be as affected by wind attacks, she still thought he would at least be off his feet.

Well, that showed her.

Kikari reminded herself to check for his other teammates. She was younger than her light gray hair would tell most people, certainly younger than her father had been when he'd trained the fifth generation of Team Seven. Still, Kikari was an elite Jounin, and while these Genin weren't any real threat to her, they would attempt to surprise her. With that in mind. . .

She found Six easily. While the freshly turned dirt obfuscated any sense of smell in the direction of underground, Kikari could feel the vibrations as the girl made use of the Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu to move toward her. Her progress was slow, however, as she obviously didn't know Kikari could feel her movement.

Kikato was a bit harder to find, though not much. He was up a tree, crouching on a branch, staring at her through some leaves. The only thing that gave him away at first glance was his Sharingan, burning red intensely among the trees. Even so, it was excellent stealth for a Ninja at his level. It would take eyesight as sharp as Kikari's to see him.

Runato lowered his arms, drawing Kikari's attention back to him. He could tell just by how she was staring at him that she'd found his teammates.

 _Well,_ he thought, _at least that was the plan._

Runato's eyes narrowed, and he brought his hands up to make a single sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately, eight clones of the blonde pre-teen shimmered into existence around him with a puff of smoke. While the chakra smoke dissipated within two or three seconds, it still gave him enough time to step aside, make another clone where he had been standing, and turn himself into a kunai knife which his replacement caught.

Meanwhile, Kikari stood looking on at the boy as he prepared his attack. While she could have stopped him at any time, she wanted to see what he would come up with. As the smoke faded, she sighed invisibly. Predictable Uzumaki.

All nine of Runato's clones held shuriken or kunai. They both knew damn well he didn't have the chakra control for the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, so to him this was the next best thing. As one, all the clones began throwing a hail of weapons at the lazy Jounin.

He should've known he wouldn't get away with the trick.

The plan was perfect. It had been sheer luck Kikari had carved it neatly in two. While even if it had gone off perfectly, it wouldn't have gotten her, but _still,_ it burned a bit.

The clone that had replaced Runato and grabbed the Genin-turned-kunai had thrown him, unlike the other clones, aiming to miss. The intention was for him to turn back into a human form and grab the bells, which is what he'd be next to if he timed it right.

Of course it didn't work.

Kikari had snatched Runato out of the air, along with a real kunai, and proceeded to use him to deflect all the others, a lot of them back where they came from. Finally, when only one clone remained, Kikari threw him at the last clone. Since her other knife had gone poof when it's clone took another through the face, she was left with no visible weapons. Visible being the key word there. Runato hit his last clone, and then lost control over the transformation and popped back to human, landing on the ground covered in bruises.

 _Ow, ow, ow._ Fail.

Kikari, for her part, was quite impressed. It hadn't totally been luck she'd caught the knife that had been Runato, after all; she'd seen it heading for the left of her waist, where the bells were. She'd been intending to simply deflect it, but upon touching it and realizing what it was, used the transformed boy to defend against his own attack. It was a good thing, Kikari reflected. The boy was definitely more creative than the average Genin.

Then her instincts were screaming at her to _jump,_ and without hesitation, Kikari boosted her legs with chakra and jumped upwards. She was just in time to dodge Six's attack.

The pale girl's hands jumped from the ground, missing Kikari's feet by inches. Six cursed as she realized her attack missed. Immediately, she switched to her backup plan, activating the Manic Contortion Jutsu.

Her arms spiraled upwards, relentless in their assault of the grey-haired Jounin. Kikari kicked and punched the arms away, using the attack as a springboard to propel her farther upwards. Six felt the blows, but they had no real effect on her. Using this Jutsu made her arms much more flexible, flexible enough to just bend away from the attacks. On the flipside, however, the resultant springboard-like effect was just helping Kikari get away.

Eventually, Kikari felt the attack cease, and looked down. She was nearly twenty meters in the air, suspended for a few seconds, as Six's attack ran out of range. She was just contemplating how to get away when she heard a very familiar sound.

A sound like one thousand birds chirping simultaneously, right behind her.

Kikari swung herself about, which was about the only way to describe the complicated maneuver she pulled off to turn herself around without any foot or handholds. There, she saw something she'd been waiting for since the start of the test. Kikato flew at her from an angle, obviously having just launched himself from the trees a ways behind him. Kikari frowned inwardly. Had she been at his level and somehow managed to avoid his teammates attacks, this would have been the end of her. As it was, the ninja from the Copycat Clan had several dozen jutsu she could use to get out of this, but simple was best for Genin. After all, she didn't really want to kill the boy.

Mostly.

In the blink of an eye, Kikari flung a shuriken at his upper arm. Nowhere critical or enough to take him out of the fight, but more than enough to stop his Chidori-charge. The shuriken got about a half-inch into the preteen's arm before he went poof, and suddenly Kikari was looking at the space where the shadow clone used to be. Right through it, in fact, and into Kikato's activated Sharingan.

Kikari debated with herself for a moment whether it might be prudent to uncover her own Sharingan. While, like all Hatake, she only possessed the copy wheel doujutsu in her right eye, her mastery of it was greater than many Uchiha. Then she realized two things about Kikato: One, his Sharingan were not fully developed, having three tomoe between the two eyes, and thus she could counter any genjutsu he might throw at her, and two; He wasn't looking into her eyes, which made the first realization rather moot. He was looking at her waist. More specifically, at the bells.

A second later, she had an Uchiha wrapped around her leg, with one bell on the ground where he'd substituted himself out with it. The other bell was in his mouth, which was about the best he could manage with both arms currently hanging on to his sensei for dear life.

Runato, who had, in between Six's assault and Kikato's substitution, hid himself in a bush to check himself over for injuries (he had, after all, been used to deflect several dozen of his own kunai.) While the transformation allowed him to take on the texture and profile of the whatever object it was, it wouldn't save him from some bruises via impacts by other kunai. Thus, he checked himself over, looking out every second or two to see what was happening. When Runato affirmed he had no serious injury, he poked his head out of the bush, and his jaw dropped. The last thing he'd seen before ducking his head to focus on his bruises was Kikari jumping into the air. Now, she had Kikato wrapped around her leg, twenty feet in the air, and a bell off on the ground a ways behind them. A quick look at Six told him she'd pulled her upper half out of the ground, allowing her to see what was going on but still letting her escape underground if necessary. From the looks of things, his teammates had Kikari under control for now, and Runato wasn't one to skip opportunities. He leaped out of the bush and ran for the bell at top speed.

Kikato was of two minds at the moment. One half was ecstatic that his plan had worked. The other half was currently screaming in terror. He was wrapped around the leg of a _goddamn Jonin,_ for lord's sake. He couldn't even make hand signs, and in his current scenario they would have been useless anyway. Kikato hadn't regained enough energy to power a Chidori yet, having expended about half his chakra for the Shadow Clone/Chidori distraction. His fire jutsu were also currently useless, having nothing that wouldn't burn his own face off should he use it, nevermind with the bell in his mouth. He sighed internally, and tightened his own hold, determined that should an opportunity arrive, he would take it.

Six looked on bemusedly as Kikato employed one of the first tactics in the Genin repertoire; distraction. The sheer audacity of latching on to your opponent, leaving yourself open to any attack, had certainly helped him here. Six considered this, and found the result a little lacking. It had been just over a second since Kikato had latched on to Kikari, and the woman hadn't moved. Not a muscle. It might have been surprise, but the woman was a Jonin in her prime, and a Hatake no less. Yet she had no visible reaction to a preteen Uchiha wrapping himself around her leg, and her body language suggested she had turned to wood.

Wood.

Six heard Runato running for the bell a fraction of a second too late. She had just figured out what was going on as she twisted around to yell for Runato.

"Trap!" Six screamed, knowing it was too late. The bell went poof as Runato reached for it, and Kikari Hatake appeared out of the smoke, slamming her foot into Runato's gut, sending him flying towards Six. At the same time, the Kikari that Kikato had grabbed went poof as well, and he had just enough time to spit out the bell-turned-acorn in his mouth to be surprised, before he released the log his sensei had turned into and started falling. He managed to twist around midair, taking a breath to yell for Six to catch him, right before she did so, using her Manic Contortion to snatch him out of the air and carry him toward the ground.

When Six let him go, and Kikato stood up, he found Runato already there, picking himself off the ground, still winded from Kikari's kick. Then the three Genin stood to face their sensei, almost in exactly the same position as before, except for small differences. All three young ninja were roughed up. Kikato was halfway out of chakra, and Six had barely a quarter left. Runato had over seventy-five percent, but he was winded as well. Runato had bruises all over, and Six ached up and down her arms. Kikari, meanwhile, was unaffected. She didn't even seem winded, (and she wasn't) she had no visible injuries, and she stood there with that ridiculous eye-smile going. She tilted her head.

"Is that all?" She asked, fully aware of how much effort they'd put into those attacks.

Runato straightened up at this, Kikato stiffened noticeably, and Six's facial expression twitched. Kikari felt a bit guilty about taunting them like this, but it was impossible to know if the three Genin had actually been working together, or if they had simply taken advantage of the other's attacks. While unlikely, Kikari needed to know before passing them.

"I mean, you might as well just give up if that's all you've got. Go back to the academy and maybe the first years could teach you a few things." Kikari taunted them.

Kikato sighed heavily before stepping forward. His Sharingan active, he stared down his sensei across the field. "I dislike revealing all our tricks, but I don't think any of us stands a chance alone. I think it's time to go with _that_ plan."

Kikari disliked the way he said that. Had she been a good eight years younger she might have been slightly concerned. The way he spoke, while obviously intended to be theatric, was most likely a signal to his teammates for some kind of combo attack. Kikato didn't talk in a boasting tone, either; whatever he had planned he had complete surety in.

Runato stepped forward next. "Yeah, I'm down. I think that's our best shot."

Six stepped smoothly in front of the two, still facing Kikari. "Let's do it," she said confidently.

With that, Six knelt, signing quickly, and slammed her hands into the ground. "Earthen Wall Jutsu," she intoned.

The wall of soil sprang up in front of the three Genin, obscuring them from Kikari's view. While the wall was something she could flatten easily, the elite Jonin instead decided to wait and see. And hello, there they went.

The opening attack involved Six flinging the wall of dirt down towards Kikari, sending the tower of soil sliding down the field at a respectable speed. Kikari knew the dangers of letting it get close, even though it was no real threat. She made a few hand signs and pointed at the wall.

"Lightning Style: Leader Charge," she said, loudly and clearly. A small blast of lightning fired from her finger, hit the wall, and blew it to shreds.

Ah, just as she'd thought. Kikato ran at her, straight on, even as he ran activating the Chidori. He didn't sink as much chakra into it has possible, though. Kikari stood and waited until he reached her, then reached around his Chidori, grabbed the wrist currently glowing with lightning, and used it as a handhold to vault over the young Uchiha.

Right into the pathway of Runato, Rasengan swirling in his hand, hiding in Kikato's shadow, for he was shorter than the other boy. Again, the no-signs-required jutsu wasn't as high-powered as possible, and it gave her an idea.

Kikari's hand still gripping Kikato's wrist, she tugged violently, flipping him backward forty-five degrees vertically, and lining his Chidori up with Runato's Rasengan.

Then she slammed the Chidori into the Rasengan, and the boys knew no more.

[End]

Proud of how that chapter went. I hoped I showed off Kikari's skill correctly, though I suppose it's harder to do against a bunch of Genin. I don't know how long it's going to take to do next chapter, considering all that's going on irl and besides that the next one promises to be fairly long. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all next time.

Shadow out.


	5. Let's call this one a cutscene

And here we are back again. I'm typing this two days after I posted the last chapter, and I hope it hasn't been too long. If it has been, I apologize. Anyway….

[Start]

Six sat on top of the log, between her two teammates. Runato and Kikato had been tied up to the logs either side of her, and by the looks of things they would wake up shortly. When Kikari had collided their signature jutsu, the resulting chakra blast had knocked them both out. Since neither of them had put full power into the jutsu, since they hadn't had enough time, it didn't do any real physical harm. Kikari, however, had sailed free of the blast, landing on her feet directly in front of Six. Six had stared her down long enough to confirm both of her teammates were unconscious before surrendering immediately. Getting the bells without her teammates was worse than not getting them at all, assuming she could even get them. Sensing her teammates' movement, she settled down to wait on them.

Kikari leaned against a tree a good distance away from her Genin while she debated about what to do. In truth, she'd never expected a Genin team this soon. Most Jonin that got Genin teams fell into two categories: New and inexperienced (for a Jonin) or older and losing their edge, but still combat ready. Kikari, being twenty-three, was neither. In this, however, she truly had no idea what to do. Sure, her team displayed very good teamwork, already having a combination jutsu that was near completion. Sure, alone they were near Chunin level in at least one area. Runato, naturally, had the Nine-Tails, and several Wind Jutsu, along with the Rasengan. Kikato had a Sharingan about halfway through development, and though she wondered shortly about why he didn't have nearly the amount of jutsu most of his clanmates did, or she herself for that matter. His academy dossier answered this question with a quote from Kikato himself. He had repeatedly expressed he felt turning his Sharingan upon his fellow Leaf ninja to learn their jutsu was dishonorable, unless of course they were trying to teach him said jutsu. Stealing from the enemy, of course, was fine. In Mitsuki's case, or Six as the girl liked to be called, had a good repertoire of Earth and Water jutsu for her level, and chakra control rivaling a Hyuuga of her age. All in all, the three missed only one thing that could make them Chunin; experience. Kikari supposed that was her job. Ultimately, the deciding factor was the D-ranks.

Kikari stifled a chuckle under her mask. Even though she knew her Genin would have known about the D-ranks long before they graduated, there was still nothing better than watching newly—minted Genin go through weeks upon weeks of D-ranks. Especially the louder ones that all had images of ninja that were entirely composed of ass-kicking badasses who could storm a castle and rescue a princess (beautiful, of course) and be home in time for dinner. Oh, yes. Kikari would pass her new team, and all the effort she put in would be worth it.

[Skip]

Six jumped a bit as Runato snorted himself awake, waking up Kikato in the process. As the two blinked the spots out of their eyes, she shifted herself on her log to make them aware of her presence. Both looked up at her as they tried to stretch, and it was at that moment they realized exactly their predicament.

Runato hung his head in mock sadness. "God-freakin'-dangit. I thought we had her."

Kikato grimaced. "No, it was over the moment she broke the earth wall. Another second would have given me time to power up the Chidori enough to prevent her from grabbing my wrist."

It was around this moment that a bell went off in Runato's head. He looked up at Six with a question on his tongue.

"Hey, uh, why aren't you tied up? Is it not over yet?"

Six winced. She'd hoped they wouldn't ask. "No, Runato, it's over. We lost. I'm not tied up because I surrendered instead of being knocked out."

Kikato raised his eyebrow at her before Runato could say anything. "Why the surrender? You could have just retreated underground and grabbed us."

Six was already shaking her head before he stopped talking. "She landed right in front of me; I didn't have a choice. I didn't see where she went when the chakra blast happened, and then she was in front of me."

"And a smart decision it was." Six almost fell off her log this time, and the two boys both jumped.

Kikari walked towards them almost lazily. "I would have knocked you out had you attempted to get away; it was over as soon as Kikato and Runato were unconscious. Besides, I had enough information by that point."

Runato perked up at this, almost fox-like. "Oh! Did we pass! I hope we passed! I thought we did great!"

While his teammates remained silent, she could see all of their attention was on her. Waiting for her decision.

"Yes," She nodded. "You exhibited good skill on your own, and great teamwork. You all have the potential to be great ninja. So our decision is. . . Summoning Jutsu!"

Faster than lightning, Kikari nicked her finger and slammed her hand to the ground. When the chakra smoke cleared, the dog summons of the Hatake clan were arrayed in front of the Genin, stacked in such a manner to read out the word, **YES.**

Runato cheered. "We did it, we did it, we passed, we passed!" Six smiled widely, and Kikato simply smirked. Kikari dismissed her dogs and beckoned to the pale girl.

Six slid off the log and walked toward their Sensei, before the woman started talking again. "Your first mission, or rather Kikato and Runato's first mission, is. . ." She paused for dramatic effect, allowing the Genin in front of her to grow excited.

"Escape that chakra rope that ties you to the log. Good luck!" Kikari eye-smiled at them, placed her hand on Six's shoulder, and guided the girl off as she giggled to herself. Behind them, the loud complaints of Runato and the dry sarcasm of Kikato filled the air.

Kikari would dearly regret that joke come April Fool's day.

[Skip]

Kikato flung himself onto his bed, uncaring of the dirt cascading off his body. He was exhausted. Kikari had taken them on three D-rank missions that day. "A test of endurance," She'd said. What she hadn't mentioned was that it was a test of patience as well. Their first mission, beginning at eight-thirty AM, was babysitting. Normally not too bad of a mission, aside from the hygiene issues all babies, shared, but this one lasted until five. After an hour's break, during which Kikari had gone to get them a new mission, they headed to the Inuzuka compound, where an older member of the clan had contracted them to walk several of the dogs used for breeding. The dogs, mostly retired ninja dogs, could sense fear and weakness far better than most regular animals. Kikato had managed to subdue his six-foot specimen with a glance from his Sharingan. Six rubbed her ninken's ears, and very quickly the thing was devoted to her.

Runato's had dragged him straight into a women's bathroom.

It was only the dog that allowed him to escape, distracting the deadly creatures within long enough for Runato to extricate himself from the situation.

After sending in Six to recover the dog, they returned to the compound and handed over the dogs back to their handlers. Then they went to dinner.

And, of course, halfway through Kikari returned with a new mission.

Recover an escaped cat.

Kikato heaved a sigh as he remembered the complete and utter embarrassment that had become.

Poor Runato had charged immediately upon sighting the animal, which promptly turned tail and ran around the corner. As soon as the blond-haired boy and rounded the corner, the cat had jumped from a nearby trash bin onto the Genin's face, which it used as a springboard up to the roof.

Kikato had leaped up in pursuit, quickly managing to catch up to the infernal feline. He threw a convenient abandoned bottle near the cat to make it look at him, and when it did the Uchiha activated his Sharingan.

At which point the cat screeched in terror, chose fight instead of flight, and flung itself at Kikato's face.

The boy had not managed to right himself before he hit the ground.

It was Six who had eventually caught the thing, popping up directly in its path and nabbing it with the Manic Contortion. However, even she didn't escape unscathed, as the cat used it's claws rather liberally until Six fully wrapped her arms around it in a style reminiscent of a boa constrictor.

In no one's opinion but Kikari's had that been anything less than a B-rank mission on D-rank pay.

[Skip]

After dismissing her team, Kikari was summoned to the Hokage's office. While it wasn't per se unusual for a Jonin to be summoned after hours, Kikari had a funny feeling she knew what this was about. After entering the office, Kikari approached the Hokage, who was turned around in his chair, staring at the night sky.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes. I kept tabs on your missions today. Three D-ranks, and not the easiest ones, either."

It was not a question.

Kikari waited a moment before responding. The Hokage was normally genial and friendly, but tonight he obviously had something on his mind.

"Yes, sir. I want to take them on a C-rank soon, so I need to test their endurance."

The Hokage nodded to himself.

"A C-rank, huh. Have you trained them sufficiently for such a task?"

Normally C-ranks were a walk in the park, a paid vacation out of the village. However, when they went wrong, they tended to do so spectacularly.

Kikari nodded without hesitation.

"Yes. I think they're ready."

The Hokage chuckled. It was a deep sound, and it was reminiscent of his normal manner.

"Have you been instructing Kikato with his Sharingan? It's one of the stronger ones in his generation, if not the strongest."

Kikari nodded, mostly to herself.

"Yes, but not much. I've been trying to figure out a way to teach him without playing Monkey See Monkey Do. It won't help him to become a carbon copy of my fighting style." 

The man nodded. "Yes, that is correct. I'm happy to see you thought further on his training. Perhaps if I could suggest that you bring in another Uchiha, someone trained to use the Sharingan. He wouldn't need to take your place, just supplement his training."

Kikari mulled over it for a few seconds. On the one hand, she'd prefer to train Kikato solo. On the other, until she devised a workable training method, Kikato would stagnate, unable to find someone to teach him.

"Yes, sir, I think that would be a good idea," she agreed, "but could we agree that the assistant would stop once I come up with a satisfactory training method?"

The Hokage chuckled again, before swiveling around in his chair. His eyes locked onto Kikari's. Dark hair that went down to his neck framed an aquiline face, which housed black eyes.

"I think that would be for the best, Kikari. After all, I couldn't possibly neglect my own nephew's training."

[Skip]

(A few days later)

Satako bowed before the head of the Uchiha Clan and the Lord Hokage, Lord Maehara Uchiha.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Satako was careful, if nothing else. He knew his clan head had two common moods: serious and genial. If he was in his serious mood, Satako's general joking manner and cheerfulness would be met with a glare or a reprimand. In genial, he would be received with jokes of the Head's own.

The man laughed heartily. "No need for formality, Satako! You haven't done anything wrong! Or have you?"

Satako gave a small, inner sigh of relief as he stood. "You would know more about doing wrong than I, Maehara. Remember Tea Country?"

Maehara's eyes glinted with mirth. "I believe we made a deal never to speak of that incident. Or do you want me to tell your mother what those magazines I gave you contained?"

Satako's eyes widened slightly, though his smile remained on his face. "You wouldn't. She'd kill you too." 

Satako was twenty-five, held the rank of Special Jonin, aiming for full Jonin in the next two years, possessed the Eternal Mangeyko Sharingan, having both long range and short range Kamui, along with Amaterasu and Inferno Style, and had been living on his own since the age of sixteen. His mother was a middle-aged woman with no Bloodline Limit who'd never left the village in her life, and she terrified the bloody daylights out of Satako.

Maehara chuckled, knowing he'd won the verbal spar. "Not before she ends you, my young friend."

Satako recognized the end of the bout and dropped his jokes. "So, before our food gets cold, why have you brought me here?

They were sitting in one of the classier restaurants of the Leaf, in a private room, and their food had arrived just before they began their word-fight.

Maehara began to eat, taking a few bites before responding.

"Remember over-arching mission I assigned to you last year, whenever you were in the village on duty but not on mission?"

Satako nodded as he spoke.

"Of course. I am to watch over Kikato and make sure he stays under control." He frowned. "Have I done something wrong?" This time, the question was serious.

Maehara shook his head, chewed, and swallowed.

"Not at all, not at all. I simply need you to take a more active role in it."

Satako nodded again, telling the other man to continue, and kept eating.

"You see, yesterday I invited Kikari Hatake, Team Seven's Jonin Sensei, into my office to speak about Kikato's Sharingan training. We agreed that an assistant from the Uchiha clan would help him with his Sharingan while Kikari thinks up a training regimen that doesn't involve our standard MSMD style."

Satako tilted his head, puzzled, as he swallowed. "So I assume you want me to train him?" When Maehara didn't respond, Satako kept talking. "How? If you want to avoid using the MSMD method, I'm really not the best for this; I'm textbook Uchiha. Sure, I'm good, but I wouldn't know how to teach him anything new without his Sharingan on." 

Maehara smiled. "Lucky for you, you are actually perfect for this. Your style is perfect textbook Uchiha, and that's exactly what we need here. I want you to teach him all about the Uchiha style, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, everything. As much as you can before Kikari comes up with a method. You can use the MSMD method because all he needs to do is copy it, not learn it in depth without his Sharingan on like you did."

Satako, understanding now, thought about his answer for a moment before continuing.

"That's good. Sure, I can train him," he swallowed the last bite of his food. "Anything more specific? Cause in about five minutes I'll be late."

Maehara shook his head. "Nope, that's all. Ask Kikari for training times and details, and report to me at the end of the week. Now, if you would be so kind. . .?" He trailed off, looking meaningfully at Satako.

Said man reached across the table and rapped the clan head hard on the wrist. Maehara grinned and flashed a peace sign before going poof.

Satako, alone in the room, rang the bell for a waiter, then tossed a couple ryo onto the table before swirling away.

[Skip]

Runato disliked the training Kikari had them doing now. The first week and a half had been all about getting their combination jutsu down, and once they had it perfectly, Kikari set them to the real stuff. They'd been her Genin for a month and a half, and Kikari had completely ignored any and all opportunity to teach them cool new jutsu. Instead, she had them working on things like boosting their strength and speed with chakra, tree climbing and hopping, water walking and basic medical ninjutsu. All basic stuff, and stuff Runato knew he'd need somewhere, but he couldn't resist learning cool Jutsu. Especially because half the time he was the _only one doing it!_ Kikato knew the Body Flicker, so boosting himself with chakra was second nature, even if most of the time it went to speed, not strength. Six had perfect chakra control anyway, and was accustomed to the Manic Contortion Jutsu. It was a short step from that to boosts.

At least Kikato had to do the tree climbing with him. Six had done it on her first try, but it had taken both of the male members of Team Seven all day and half the night to do it. They could all tree hop, so they skipped that.

Water walking, however, was a bit more difficult. Six managed it after about an hour, but walking took another. Running she saved for another day. Kikato took four hours to do both, tried running, and copied Six. Runato took seven hours to do walking, but by the time his teammates showed up the next morning he was tired, wet, and could run on water.

Not that his teammates let him keep that title for long, but still. . .

The medical ninjutsu was different. Runato didn't have to do that one. They'd spent that day doing taijutsu sparring, healing each other whenever they were bruised. Except the minute Runato went to heal Kikato, Kikari had appeared in front of him, guided him away, and healed Kikato herself. Kikato tended to put too much chakra into the healing jutsu, so the end result of being healed by him felt like being injected with straight caffeine. Six, of course, managed to do it instantaneously. She was quite happy about that, up until the point Kikari handed her a medical bag and informed her of her position as the new squad medic.

In short, Runato was wondering whether or not to request a new sensei. Not that he'd ever actually follow through with it; he quite liked Kikari, after all. But he wanted a real mission, and he was fairly sure his teammates shared his feelings. Kikato in particular wanted a real chance to prove himself. The boy had spent his early days at the academy systematically making sure he wouldn't end up as the "Perfect Uchiha" of his generation, being friendly, funny, and cordial with those around him. He still managed to attract about half the class' girls, but not from any effort on his part. The few bullies Kikato had had to fight off, occasionally with Runato's help, were no trouble to defeat even without his Sharingan on.

In Runato's case, he'd spent a good deal of his academy days being classic Uzumaki: he was a troublemaker, a slacker, and an annoyance. Except his grades were miles above classic Uzumaki, his only superiors in that sector being Six and Kikato himself.

Six was the perfect academy student, by comparison. She asked questions, she never scored below an A, she was attentive in class, and she could maintain some level of control over her fellow students.

The real world was a different place: all of them knew that. Their parents or relatives had shown them their power. Runato's father still possessed half the nine-tails, and the level of control he had over it was enough to actively use its chakra without any visible sign he was doing so. Kikato's uncle, the clan head, had destroyed Kikato with his Sharingan inactive. Six's parent had brought down her every attack until Six was too exhausted to continue. All of this went to show that no matter how good they were at the academy, to become strong they had to have a test in the real world. They believed they were ready. In later years, they felt lucky.

[Skip]

It wasn't so much a surprise as a full-on shock when Kikari showed up to their meeting point -the training field where they'd had their exam- bearing a C-rank mission scroll in her hands. It wasn't even the scroll that did it. It was, in fact, their sensei was early, and arrived ten minutes after the rest of the team's arrival. She eye-smiled at them on approach.

"I know you all would much rather take a few D-ranks today, but I have-"

She got no further.

Runato shouted immediately. "IS THAT A C-RANK?!"

Kikato grinned from ear to ear. "About damn time."  
Six leaned away from her teammates. "I was wondering if we were to get one soon.

"Yes, but before you get excited let me explain the specifics. The Hokage felt it best that you have a somewhat personal connection to this mission, so would anyone like to guess where we're going?"

Kikato nodded immediately and raised his hand. "The Valley of the Heroes?" The statues of Hashirama and Madara, at what had been originally called the Valley of the End had been destroyed during the titanic battle between Naruto and Sasuke decades earlier. After their deaths, statues of the two had been raised along with the repairs made to the original statues, and the Valley had been renamed. Now, the Valley was where statues of those who had become true heroes of the Elemental Nations were erected, and people who had become those heroes were represented there. 

There were four statues there.

Given, the criteria were kind of high. Hashirama and Madara had started the system that was still in use today. Naruto and Sasuke had quite literally saved the world. But still, there was the very rare ninja who didn't dream of being up there one day. While the requirement, along with the standard, was also to die, most people discarded that dream fairly quickly.

KIkari shook her head. "Nope. That mission's a D-rank anyway. You do get C-rank pay and take two or three Genin teams along, but no. Guess again." She eye-smiled.

Runato piped up, his excitement giving his voice another octave.

"Ooh! Oh! Are we going to the Fourth War battlefields?"

Kikari actually chuckled at this. The battlefields weren't the wasteland they'd once been, and in the years since the fourth war, the fifth war had yet to occur, and the battlefields had become vibrant and green once again. The only places that were still marked were places where important things had happened, such as the Divine Tree, the place where the four heroes were summoned back by the Sage of the Six Paths, the place where Neji Hyuuga had met his end, and the former headquarters of the Shinobi Union.

"No, Runato, we aren't going there. Any more guesses?"

Team Seven looked around at each other. Six hadn't guessed, but neither Runato or Kikato had another guess. They looked back at Kikari, who took their silence as an answer.

"We are going to the Great Naruto Bridge!"

The reaction was immediate.

Runato dropped his head. "I'm never getting away from that."

Kikato grunted. "Not sure why that's important to us. Sure, Runato maybe, but. . ."

He gestured in Six's general direction. The girl, obviously, having family back to Boruto and Sarada, not back to Naruto and Sasuke, had nothing connecting her to the bridge.

Kikari shook her head slightly. "Granted, Six doesn't really have anything personal to the bridge. But this team does. Team Seven came together on that bridge, the original Team Seven. Two orphans, one containing what the village still thought of as a demon, the other the son of an extinct clan, his only purpose revenge, and a girl that no one thought was anything special. Look where they are now."

Runato raised his hand. "How long did you spend practicing that speech, Sensei? That was so completely out of character."

Kikato poked him. "The fact you recognize that is out of character." Then he shook his head. "Well, at least my sarcasm is still intact."

[End]

I may or may not have been exhausted for that last part. Sue me. Also, I would apologize for the late update, but since I'm not exactly trying to operate on a schedule right now. . . whatever. Til' next time.


End file.
